International Education at MDC Center for Latin American and Caribbean Initiatives (CLACI)

CLACI News

Initiatives

December 10, 2013. A longtime Cuban catholic activist of human rights, Humberto Esteve, launched his autobiographical book at the InterAmerican Campus, also in commemoration of the International Day of Human Rights.

December 9, 2013. A panel discussion on "Democracy, the Rule of Law and Human Rights in Latin America" was convened at Wolfson Campus to commemorate the International Day of Human Rights. The event was organized in collaboration with the Interamerican Institute for Democracy and Carlos Sanchez, its executive director and former Bolivian minister, made the conclusions of the panel discussion. The distinguished panel included Horacio Medina and Gisela Parra, from the Democratic Round Table of Venezuela and Cuban independent journalist and writer Luis Felipe Rojas.

November 7, 2013 "What is Peronism?" This was a colloquium at the Wolfson Campus on the origins and evolution of that populist ideology in Argentina and its impact throughout the region. The program included Silvia Mercado, author of a recent book titled "The Inventor of Peronism" who came from Argentina to participate in this event.

October 4, 2013. Second Seminar of the series The Reconciliation Project organized by the Cuba Study Group. The event was again organized in cooperation with Miami Dade College at the Wolfson Campus.

October 3, 2013. Seminar at the InterAmerican Campus on "Discrimination, Inequity and Exclusion in the Caribbean Basin". This seminar was organized in cooperation with the University of Latin American Labor (UTAL).

September 26, 2013. Seminar at the Wolfson Campus on "Preventing Genocide". Former Minister of defense from Spain, Ms. Carme Chacon, made a keynote speech on genocide from a gender perspective. Panelists included professors Victor Vazquez, Magdalena Lamarre, and Eric Belokon as well as CLACI executive director Juan Antonio Blanco.

September 15, 2013. MDC and CLACI organized a presentation in Miami of Governor Henrique Capriles Randowski at the Knight Center who spoke to an audience of 5,000

September 6, 2013. Seminar at Wolfson Campus on the "Socialism of the XXI century and its impact on press freedom". This seminar was organized in coordination with the Asociación de Periodistas Venezolanos en el Extranjero (APEVEX).

August 3, 2013. The executive director of CLACI, Dr. Juan Antonio Blanco made a presentation at the annual congress of the Association for the Study of the Cuban Economy (ASCE) on the MDC approach to knowledge remittances and development. The occasion was also used to launch his latest book "Knowledge Remittances: del Brain Drain al Brain Gain". This book was also present at the MDC stand during the Miami International Book Fair.

July 2013 Presentation by Father José Conrado, the most respected voice of the Catholic Church's critical voices on Cuba's current situation. (In cooperation with the School of Arts and Philosophy of Wolfson Campus)

July 2013 Panel on the new paradigms on migration at Wolfson Campus (In cooperation with Department of Social Sciences at Wolfson and the LAC Center of the University of Miami)

July 2013 Presentation of the first Cuban dissident married gay couple at Wolfson Campus (In cooperation with the School of Arts and Philosophy of Wolfson Campus)

June 2013 Financial and Credit Training for the Hispanic Community in Dade County (In cooperation with the Consulates of Colombia and Mexico)

June 2013 Panel on Race, Gender, and Class Perceptions in Surveying LAC at the Wolfson Campus (In coordination with the Department of Social Sciences and the University of Miami LAC Center)

June 2013 Presentation of the delegation of the Cuban Citizens Committee for Racial Integration at the Wolfson Campus (In coordination with the School of Arts and Philosophy)

May 2013 Panel organization, presentation and facilitation of the debate on strategic planning at the Annual Congress of Chambers of Commerce of Latin America (In cooperation with the School of Business of Wolfson Campus and CAMACOL)

May 2013 Presentation of Cuban dissident Eliecer Avila at Wolfson Campus (In coordination with the School of Arts and Philosophy).

May 2013. Presentation at the Freedom Tower of the national leader of the Cuban Ladies in White, who received a Sakharov Award from the European Union and were presented with the Miami Dade College Presidential Medal for their struggle for freedom and human rights.

April 2013 Panel on Latin American relations with China at the Wolfson Campus (In coordination with the School of Business and the University of Miami LAC Center)

April 2013 Production of a TV program of Estado de Sats at North Campus studios. This program is regularly produced in Cuba by dissidents and this was the first time that it could include the participation of Cuban exiles in the panel (In cooperation with MDC North Campus)

April 2013 Presentation made by Cuban dissident Antonio Rodiles on the perspectives for democratic change in Cuba. Wolfson Campus (In coordination with the School of Arts and Philosophy).

On April 1, 2013 Miami Dade College welcomed internationally known Cuban independent journalist and dissident Yoani Sanchez. Ms. Sanchez was interviewed by journalist Miriam Marquez of the Miami Herald at the Freedom Tower. More than a thousand persons and two hundred journalists crowded the Tower while the event was also webcast and broadcast live: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=am1PVJ7U3L4&feature=youtu.be

On March 22, 2013 Miami Dade College's Center for Latin American and Caribbean Initiatives and City of Miami Mayor's International Council presented SERESTA - A musical tribute from Medellin, Colombia, to the 500th Anniversary of Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de Leon's discovery of Florida. This Grammy Award-nominated Colombian instrumental group delivered an exquisite recital of traditional Latin - American music from three of their albums. The free program and accompanying commentary was presented in Spanish

On February 12 from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. at the Wolfson Campus of Miami Dade College, Dr. Carmelo Mesa Lago made a brilliant presentation of his new book -Raul Castro's economic and social reforms in Cuba and their effects (Madrid Editorial Colibri, 2012) - at an overcrowded auditorium of students and faculty members as well as academics from the Miami community. Copies of the book were sold and autographed by the author at the end of his presentation. This event was convened at Miami Dade College by CLACI, The School of Business, the Department of Social Sciences, and The Center for Literature and Theatre at MDC. The presentation was also cosponsored by the Cuban Research Institute of Florida International University, the Association for Studies on the Cuban Economy (ASCE), and the National Association of Cuban American Educators (NACAE).

The Center for Latin American and Caribbean Initiatives helped organize Reconciliation and Change (September) at Miami Dade College Wolfson Campus. This event, an initiative of the Cuba Study Group together with Miami Dade College, brought together an ambassador from South Africa who participated in negotiations to end the Apartheid regime, a member of the Irish Parliament who took part in the peace talks representing the Sin Fein, a Catholic Priest from Chicago who is a well-known expert in conflict management and peace negotiations, and a Cuban exile who spoke about his long, painful, and unfinished, journey to reconciliation. Archbishop of Miami Thomas Gerard Wenski and the President of the Cuba Study Group Carlos Saladrigas made the opening speeches.

The Center cosponsored a seminar on social remittances in the Caribbean together with Florida International University in the Dominican Republic (September). The event gathered a group of experts on migration from the United States, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic.

The Center for Latin American and Caribbean Initiatives, along with eight Latin American consulates in Miami, launched Binational Hispanic Health Week (September). The event invited the public as well as various members of the media to learn about preventative care and the free health services facilitated by Latin American consulates in Miami.

Two conferences on 1962 missile crisis were cosponsored by the Center and the Wolfson Campus Department of Social Sciences (October). The events took place at the Auditorium of the ETCOTA (Building 7), where an eager audience occupied all the available seats. The Executive Director of CLACI made two separate presentations at these events, with the help of other distinguished professors from Miami Dade College faculties.

The executive director of the Center delivered the opening keynote speech for Hispanic Heritage Month at the Miami Dade College Hialeah Campus (October). The conference, titled From Brain Drain to Brain Gain, was devoted to the need to foster social and knowledge remittances for economic and social development in the Americas.

The Center, with the Wolfson Campus Honors College, cosponsored a presentation by USAID officials on the various paths available to students for joining public service (October).

The Center partnered with the Cuban Research Institute of Florida International University and the Cuba Study Group to sponsor the bilingual website Diaspora & Development (www.diasporaydesarrollo.com). The website is a digital library on issues related to migration, migration policy, diasporas, remittances and development, and other related topics.

This fall, Dr. Juan Antonio Blanco, executive director of the Center for Latin American and Caribbean Initiatives, represented Miami Dade College at events at the University of Miami, The Office of the Mayor of the City of Miami, the Foreign Service Institute of the Department of

State, the Institute of Cuban and Cuban American Studies, and the Miami Book Fair International where he presented a book that he coauthored. The panel at the book fair was presented by the provost of Miami Dade College, Dr. Rolando Montoya.

The Center for Latin American and Caribbean Initiatives is developing a strategic alliance with other stakeholders for facilitating the transfer of social and knowledge remittances of the Latin American and Caribbean diasporas back to their countries of origin. Successful pilot projects were developed in Haiti and Colombia for transferring knowledge on the use of information technologies and English as Second Language. Similar initiatives are being planned for implementation in 2013 in other countries throughout the region. On December 12, Miami Dade College hosted a high-level discussion on the issue of social and knowledge remittances at its Wolfson Campus that brought together a distinguished group of researcher, academics, practitioners, and governmental officials from the USAID and Mexico's foreign affairs ministry.

New Initiatives in 2013

Throughout 2013 and as a follow-up to Reconciliation and Change, the Center plans a slate of activities
focusing on the topics of violence, conflict management, peace building, and reconciliation that will feature round
tables, lectures,workshops, film presentations, and more.

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